After The Lightning Strikes
by ArrangedloveMatch
Summary: There was only blackness that he could sense now. But as he drifted, she pulled at the end of his mind...Katara. Zutara. SOZIN'S COMET SPOILORS...I guess


**Ta da! I'm not dead! Unfortunatly...my computer sort of is. (laughs nervously) Buuuut I managed to get this out of me! whoo! Um...I GUESS that this would be considered Sozin's Comet spoilers, so...READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!! (dramatic music)**

**I don't own ATLA...and neither do you. 'cause life ain't fair**

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_**After The Lightning Strikes**_

_A Zutara Tale_

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Blackness.

There was only blackness he could sense now. There was so much of it, swirling, spiraling, clutching at his limbs and pressing down on his chest. There was no feeling, really, in this blackness. There was only numbness. And…tiredness. Oh, he was so very tired. All he wanted to do was sleep…yes, sleep, drift, dream…

He was vaguely aware that the blackness had grown deeper, and that it was pulling him down, as if it was a lake and he was sinking further and further below the surface. Sinking…perhaps he should stop it? But no…no, the warm caress of rest, of sleep, of the dreamy blackness was far to inviting.

And so he drifted. He let the blackness pull him down. It was so easy to relax, to let go as the blessed calm washed over him. He would sink forever…forever deeper into this deep, deep lake. This ocean, this sea…

And as he thought of the ocean, the sea, of water, he thought of blue. And he thought of eyes. Her eyes.

And then it began to come back to him…

_It was all in slow motion. The lightning was moving, a twisting, sputtering snake filled with spite and murder at its core. It was cutting through the air, quicker than anything he could ever hope to dodge. But it was not aimed at him…it was not his heart that it was aiming for._

_It was at hers. A single word escaped his lips: 'No.'  
_

_And then he was running. He was running faster than he had ever dreamed possible, fueled by his anger, his anguish, his fear. How he had done it, he would never know, but suddenly he was in front of her, blocking her. He didn't care about redirecting the accursed lightning anymore. He had no thoughts of his own self, of the consequences. All he could think, would think, was of her. Protecting her. Saving her. _

_Katara. __**Katara**__.  
_

_Then the blackness had come._

And suddenly the blackness didn't seem so inviting anymore.

Suddenly it was pressing too hard, suffocating him, constricting on his face, his chest, his heart. With every breath he tried to draw in vain, the blackness tightened on his face and cut into his chest. And every time he tried desperately to say her name, it would twist painfully around his heart. The pain of it was great, but his frantic thoughts were more painful by far.

'_Katara, Katara!' _his thoughts screamed._ 'Where are you?! Are you all right?!' _What had happened after he had dashed in front of her? What if he had not succeeded in protecting her…what if she was gone, and it was all his fault?!

He cursed the wretched blackness. He cursed it for clouding his thoughts, for tricking him into slumber, for taking him away. He had to get back. He _must_ get back!

He began to struggle violently, trying to free himself, to swim back to the surface of the black lake. But it was no use. He had been foolish, and the blackness had taken advantage of that. It had pulled him down, too far down to go back now. It was too late.

Her face burst into his mind, shocked and afraid, and he felt anguish rip his chest apart. He could not stop struggling, not now. He had to try! But his efforts were fruitless as the blackness pulled him back down, down, down…

_Sleep, _it chided softly_. Sleep…  
_

'_No!' _his thoughts screamed, but he was weaker now, falling back into the abyss. He knew that he could not make it back. He was not strong enough._ Katara, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…  
_

"Zuko!"

The blackness hissed, but he felt elation rise in his heart. Her voice. It was faint, so very faint, but he had heard. He was filled with new strength, and he began to struggle again.

"Zuko! Wake up, Zuko! Zuko!"

'_Louder!' _he pleaded, though he knew that she could not hear_. 'Keep calling! Louder! Help me find you!'  
_

"Zuko! No! No! Zuko!"

Finally, with agonizing, painful slowness, he began to rise from the blackness. Little by little, step by step, he was beginning to lift himself from the dark lake.

The blackness, however, would have none of it. It tightened its grip, giving its own struggles to pull him back down. But her voice had made him stronger, so much stronger. He was not moving, but neither was he sinking. They were evenly matched.

'_Help me!' _he tried to call to her_. 'Help me get back! I need you!'  
_

Suddenly, as though his pleas were answered, a gush of warmth spread over his chest like a burning flame. It grew brighter with a blue glow, and he could feel it in his whole body, flowing through his veins. It filled him with strength, and the blackness retreated, the light too much in its domain.

And then there was pain. It shot through him like a hot knife, ripping at his chest below the blue glow, but he welcomed it. After all, pain was not numbness. Pain was feeling. Pain meant he was leaving the blackness at last.

It all happened very fast then. An icy white jolt filled his chest for one brief moment before yanking him painfully up, up to the surface of the blackness. His vision was poor, for he could not see through the filmy surface of the dark lake. It was if a heavy veil was placed over his face, and he could not see nor breathe. However, deep, deep down in his heart, he could almost feel her hands on his chest; he could almost see her eyes.

Her anguished voice came again. "Zuko, you've got to wake up! Please, _please_! Wake up! _Please_!"

There was one final jolt of hot, white, sweet pain in his chest. That was all it took for him to break through the surface, to burst through the veil. His eyes flew open, and for the briefest second he saw her face, scared and frantic and devastatingly beautiful. Then the cold, clear air hit him like the lightning had before, and he gasped.

"Zuko!" He heard a splash and realized that she had dropped her water. Her healing water. The water she had saved him with.

He struggled to sit up, wincing. He looked over to see her face once more. Her eyes were wide and wet, her cheeks were tear-stained. Her lips were trembling.

"Katara," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You healed me. You _saved_ me."

"_You_ saved _me_," she whispered back. "You saved my life, Zuko. And you almost…I thought I had…" she bit her lip. "I thought I had lost you."

"But you didn't. You saved me," he said again. There was more than one meaning to his words, and he knew that she noticed. A small, sad smile graced her features before, without warning, she had suddenly thrown herself at him, knocking him back onto the ground. Her arms were around his neck, and he realized with a jolt that she was sobbing his name into his chest.

"Oh Zuko, Zuko, _Zuko_!" She cried again and again, her tears soaking through his torn tunic.

His arms wrapped around her waist and over her shoulders, and he squeezed her, gently pressing her deeper into his body. "Shhh, Katara," he soothed, stroking her long hair. "Shhh…"

They stayed like that for a while. Finally, she pulled back and wiped her eyes.

"Zuko," she said again, but this time her voice was stern, "what on earth were you _thinking_?"

"I'm…I'm not sure," he answered truthfully. "But I do remember thinking…"

He broke off for a moment as he, on instinct, reached across and brushed her tangled hair away from her face. He swallowed and continued, "I do remember thinking one thing…"

"What was it?"

He looked at her solemnly. "_Not Katara_, I thought." He closed his eyes and took a heavy breath. "I've done terrible things, Katara. I can not and will not deny that. I've made horrible mistakes, and many of them having to do with you. I'm sorry. But somehow…somehow you forgave me. And after all of that…all I could think was that I couldn't stand to lose you now."

He opened his eyes. She was looking at him, her blue eyes wider than ever. Then a hard, blazing look came to her eyes. Before he could even contemplate what it meant, she had suddenly flown at him again. But this time, she did not bury her face in his chest. Instead, she grabbed him firmly by the shoulders, yanked him hard towards her and kissed him.

Years later, looking back on it, it seemed to him as if he had come to meet her halfway, like he had been waiting for it, hoping for it all along. And the feelings that it brought along could put any lightning bolt to shame.

**_Fin_**

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**Personally, this would be a good ending for me XD. But seriously, when a hot guy takes a bolt in the heart for you, you had BETTER kiss him, dammit! Haha just kidding. You just gotta say "thanks" and go off to kiss your son...I mean Aang. (sarcasm, btw TT)**

**Well, as always, you are welcome to leave a lovely review, I would appreciate it! (puppy doy eyes) Pretty please?**


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